Vincent Willem van Gogh (30 March 1853–29 July 1890) was a Dutch post-impressionist painter. His work had a great influence on modern art because of its striking colours and emotional power. He suffered from anxiety and fits of mental illness. He cut off his own ear and killed himself when he was 37.
When he was a young man, Van Gogh worked for a company of art dealers. He traveled between The Hague, London and Paris. After that, he taught in England. He then wanted to become a pastor and spread the Gospel, and from 1879 he worked as a missionary in a mining place in Belgium. He began drawing the people there, and in 1885, he painted his first important work, The Potato Eaters. He usually painted in dark colors at this time. In March 1886, he moved to Paris and found out about the French impressionists. Later, he moved to the south of France, and the colors in his art became brighter. His special style of art was developed and later fully grown during the time he stayed in Arles in 1888.
The works of his early Dutch period are sad, sharp, and one of the most famous pictures from here is “The Potato Eaters”, painted in 1885.
Legacy
During his brief career he had only sold one painting. After his death, Van Gogh’s finest works were all sold in less than three years. His mother threw away a lot of his paintings during his life and even after his death. But she lived long enough to see him become a world famous painter. He was not well known when he was alive, and most people did not appreciate his art. After he died, though, he became very famous. Today, many people think he is one of the greatest painters in the world and an important influence on modern art. Van Gogh did not begin painting until he was almost 30. Most of his famous works were done in his last two years. He made more than 2,000 artworks, with 900 paintings and 1,100 drawings and sketches. Today, many of his pieces – portraits, landscapes and sunflowers – are some of the most famous and costly works of art in the world.
Gallery
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The Starry Night, 1889 This is his most famous artwork.
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The Potato Eaters, 1885
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Wheatfield with Crows, 1890. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
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The Yellow House, 1888. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
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The Church at Auvers, 1890. Musée d’Orsay, Paris
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Starry Night Over the Rhone, 1888. Musée d’Orsay, Paris
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Olive Trees with the Alpilles in the Background, 1889. Museum of Modern Art, New York
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Self-Portrait, September 1889. Musée d’Orsay, Paris
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Still Life: Vase with Fourteen Sunflowers, August 1888. National Gallery, London
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Road with Cypress and Star, May 1890, Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo
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Pink Peach Tree in Blossom (Reminiscence of Mauve), watercolour, March 1888. Kröller-Müller Museum
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Wheatfield Under Thunderclouds, 1890, Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Ward in the Hospital in Arles, 1889, Oskar Reinhart Collection “Am Römerholz”, Winterthur, Switzerland
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The Round of the Prisoners (after Doré), 1890. Pushkin Museum, Moscow
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The Sower, (after Millet), 1888. Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo
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Portrait of the Postman Joseph Roulin (1841–1903) early August 1888, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
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La Berceuse (Augustine Roulin) 1889, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
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Self-Portrait with Grey Felt Hat, Winter 1887–88. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
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Self-Portrait with Straw Hat, Paris, Winter 1887–88. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
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Still Life: Vase with Twelve Sunflowers, August 1888. Neue Pinakothek, Munich
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Irises, 1889. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
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Cypresses in Starry Night, a reed pen drawing executed by Van Gogh after the painting in 1889
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Wheat Field with Cypresses, 1889. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
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Cypresses, 1889. Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
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The Pink Orchard also Orchard with Blossoming Apricot Trees, March 1888. Van Gogh Museum, Amsterdam
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Orchard in Blossom, Bordered by Cypresses, April, 1888. Kröller-Müller Museum, Otterlo, Netherlands
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(source)